Wireless locating and monitoring system

ABSTRACT

A wireless tracking device and method of operation. A processor connected to a positioning system may periodically determine a location of the device. A wireless radio is connected to the processor for transmitting the location of the device across a wireless area network. The processor may be a microcontroller in a vehicle monitoring system, configured to receive vehicle location input from the positioning system as well as sensor input to determine vehicle condition. The wireless transmitter may be configured to transmit vehicle position and vehicle condition data to a remote data network access point.

This patent application claims priority to, and herein incorporates byreference, U.S. Provisional Patent No. 60/742,962, filed on Dec. 6,2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to networks, and in particularto networks used for tracking vehicles, aircraft, vessels, equipment andother property.

Vehicle tracking is the ability for a user such as a vehicle owner orfleet owner to monitor the location, speed and direction of a vehicle ata given time. It is desirable for fleet owners to monitor the distanceand routes driven to find inefficiencies, and to monitor speed todetermine safety of driving and fuel consumption. For aircraft or boatowners or operators (e.g. commercial fishermen), it may be desirable tohave their location known by the Coastguard in the event of anemergency.

Conventional vehicle tracking systems employing global positioningsystems (GPS) use cellular telephone technology to transmit the locationof the vehicle. The location of the vehicle may be transmitted to a carrental agency, local authorities, or to a third-party monitoringcompany. These conventional systems usually require a monthlysubscription for the wireless communication link. FIG. 1 shows aconventional solution that is used for tracking vehicles, including avehicle 10 equipped with a tracking device and a communication deviceoperating in a cellular network 16. Cellular tower 14 provides thecellular network 16. The cellular network 16 is typically integratedwith the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) for communication with athird party operator 18.

The conventional system requires the third party operator 18 to receivesignals from the vehicle 10 and monitor its location. Vehicle locationsystems are operated by police to find vehicles reported as stolen. Theconventional solution hardware comprises a telephone 18 and communicatesusing a modem data transfer for example.

Conventional solutions are expensive and inflexible. Many people do notown a vehicle tracking device because a monthly subscription for thewireless communication link is expensive. Some people do not want athird party to be able to track their vehicle, and so do not join theseconventional services.

The present invention addresses these and other problems associated withthe prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An improved wireless tracking device is herein disclosed, the wirelesstracking device including a positioning system for determining alocation of the device and a processor connected to the positioningsystem. The wireless tracking device further including a wireless radioconnected to the processor for transmitting the location of the deviceacross a wireless area network.

An improved vehicle monitoring system is herein disclosed, the vehiclemonitoring system including a sensor, a microcontroller configured toreceive a sensor input from the sensor and determine a vehicle conditiondata, and a wireless transmitter in communication with themicrocontroller. The wireless transmitter is configured to transmit thevehicle condition data to a remote data network access point.

An improved method of monitoring a vehicle is herein disclosed, themethod including determining a status of the vehicle, locating anavailable wireless data network access point, and transmitting thestatus of the vehicle though the access point.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention which proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional vehicle tracking solution using acellular telephone network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system block diagram of wireless tracking device.

FIG. 3 illustrates operation of a vehicle tracking device using awireless data network.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system block diagram of a wireless vehiclemonitoring system.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a method for monitoring a vehiclestatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Third party tracking systems have been monitoring vehicle locations fora number of years. For example, car rental agencies may limit theoperation of their fleet vehicles to a restricted area of use. If arental car is driven outside of this restricted range, the operator maybe subject to additional fees or a car insurance policy may be voided.These systems do not benefit the operator of the vehicle and to thecontrary, provide a certain amount of invasion of privacy. Other thirdparty systems are designed to provide assistance to the operator of thevehicle, but offer only restricted or limited benefits. If a vehicleoperator or the vehicle is lost, for example, the vehicle operator maycontact the third party to obtain assistance or directions. Third partysystems that work with police agencies also have a narrow scope ofpurpose, and are similarly inflexible in application. In all instances,the vehicle operator is subject to the terms and conditions of the thirdparty system, suffers a loss of privacy, and is unable to manage theflow of vehicle information and other personal data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system block diagram of a novel wireless trackingdevice 200 disclosed herein. The tracking device 200 includes apositioning system 60 for determining a location of the device. Thepositioning system 60 may include a global positioning system (GPS)device, for example. The tracking device 200 further includes aprocessor 50 connected to the positioning system 60 and a wireless radio75 connected to the processor 50 for transmitting the location of thetracking device 200 across a wireless area network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example operation of a vehicle tracking deviceusing a wireless data network. The example operation may be implementedusing the wireless tracking device 200 of FIG. 2. Tracking device 200may be installed in a vehicle 10 to determine its location. The vehicle10 is understood to include any vehicle, aircraft, vessel, equipment orother property that may be similarly tracked.

The positioning system 60 may be used periodically to determine thelocation of the tracking device 200 provided in vehicle 10. The vehicle10 may be stationary or in motion. GPS services are free to use and areavailable worldwide, providing the ability to locate the vehicle 10globally. The wireless radio 75 of tracking device 200 scans foravailable access points, such as access point 30, which provide accessto a data network 20.

Access point 30 may include a public access point, a pay-per-use accesspoint or a subscription access point. A public access point may be partof a wireless municipal access network (WMAN), which is offered by somecities as a free service. A pay-per-use access point may be provided asa service to customers of a restaurant, store or coffee shop, forexample. A pay-per-use access point may charge a predetermined rateaccording to a number of minutes used for access to the data network 20.A subscription access point may provide access to the data network 20for members who have previously subscribed to the network service. Thesubscription access point may require a password or member login.

In one embodiment, the access point 30 includes a residential orbusiness wireless hub that provides access to the Internet. The wirelesshub may include a firewall which partitions residential or businessprocessor applications and data into private and public segments. Thevehicle 10 may be allowed access to the public applications and data inconnecting to the Internet, but would be denied access to the privateapplications and data.

The vehicle 10 establishes a network link 40 with the access point 30.The network link 40 is made according to the protocol associated withthe access point 30. Access to the data network 20 may be provided bythe access point 30 operating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) orWMAN according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) standards IEEE 802.11 or IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX—WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access). Access point 30 provides accessto the data network 20. Whereas the vehicle communicates with the accesspoint 30 by a wireless network link 40, access point 30 may be connectedto the data network 20 by cable, digital, fiber optics, satellite, orany other conventional means.

The location of the vehicle 10 may be transmitted across the datanetwork 20 to an endpoint 22. Endpoint 22 may include a computer, apersonal digital assistance, a cell phone, an email address, a website,the police, or any other destination in communication with the datanetwork 20.

The wireless radio 75 (FIG. 2) is configurable to periodically scan foravailable access points. When an access point is found, the location ofthe vehicle 10 is transmitted through the access point 30 onto the datanetwork 20. In one embodiment, the data network 20 includes or isconnected to the Internet. The location of the vehicle 10 may then betransmitted to the endpoint 22, such as the vehicle owner's computer ora website, allowing the vehicle owner or other interested person totrack the vehicle's location. If the vehicle 10 has been stolen, thelocation of the vehicle may be concurrently or alternatively transmittedto the police.

The wireless radio 75, such as a WLAN radio, may be used to passivelyscan for access points, similar to the functionality of some wirelessnetwork monitoring software. Passive mode scanning listens for anavailable network, but does not transmit any radio frequency (RF)signals during the scan phase. Passive network scanning makes itdifficult for thieves to find and disable tracking system until it istoo late, because the RF signal is not transmitted until a connection tothe access point 30 is available for data transmission.

Active mode may also be used to scan for access points, but this couldalert thieves to the presence of the wireless tracking device 200.Active mode allows the tracking device 200 to proactively search for anavailable network, allowing the access points to be located more quicklythan with passive scanning.

When an access point, such as access point 30, is found, the wirelesstracking device 200 determines if the access point 30 will allow it totransmit its data. Public access points do not use encryption, andprovide free access to the data network 20. Other access points requirelogin information to access the data network 20. The wireless trackingdevice may be configured to provide login information when the accesspoint 30 has been identified.

When access to the data network 20 has been confirmed or authorized thewireless radio 75 (FIG. 2) sends a short message containing the vehiclelocation to the access point 30, across the data network 20 and to theendpoint 22. The short message may include a time of day and vehiclestatus information. The transmission to the endpoint 22 may be providedas e-mail, short message service (SMS), fast transfer protocol (FTP),hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or other Internet protocol. Dependingon the protocol used, the message could be sent to a personal computer(via email), cell phone (via SMS), a website (via FTP or HTTP), or tothe police. In one embodiment, vehicle data is sent to a website thatupdates a map showing a current location of the vehicle 10 or thevehicle's path over the past day or some other specified time period.

FIG. 4 illustrates a system block diagram of a wireless vehiclemonitoring system 400. The vehicle monitoring system 400 is shown asincluding a sensor 100 and a microcontroller 70 configured to receive asensor input from the sensor 100 and determine vehicle condition data.The vehicle monitoring system 400 is further shown as including awireless transmitter 80 in communication with the microcontroller 70 andconfigured to transmit the vehicle condition data to a remote datanetwork access point, such as access point 30 of FIG. 3. In oneembodiment, the wireless transmitter 80 operates similarly or the sameas wireless radio 75 of FIG. 2.

The microcontroller 50 may receive sensor input from one or more sensorssuch as sensor 100 to determine fuel level, engine temperature, warninglights, tire pressure, air bag deployment, passenger data, vehiclelocation, vehicle speed, vehicle direction, or other vehicle conditiondata. The microcontroller 50 may further receive a time of day inputfrom a clock 90. Sensor 100 may include a GPS device or providefunctionality similar to the positioning system 60. In one embodimentthe microcontroller 70 operates similarly or the same as described forprocessor 50 in FIG. 2, to transmit a vehicle location or other vehiclecondition data across a data network to an endpoint, such as endpoint22. In one embodiment, the processor 50 in the wireless tracking device200 of FIG. 2 may be configured to receive a vehicle sensor input andrequest the wireless radio 75 to transmit a vehicle status across thewireless area network.

The vehicle monitoring system 400 may include a configuration device 110that provides an operator selectable mode of wireless transmission. Forexample, the mode of wireless transmission may include a selection ofpassive scanning, active scanning or account management of the remotedata network access point. Account management may include logininformation, credit card or other payment information, or a userauthentication. In one embodiment the mode of wireless transmissionincludes selection of a data transmission protocol, such as e-mail, SMS,FTP or HTTP. In other embodiment, the mode of wireless transmissionincludes selection of a destination of the vehicle condition data, suchas a computer, a personal digital assistance, a cell phone, an emailaddress, a website or the police.

In one embodiment, the configuration device 110 communicates wirelesslywith the microcontroller 70. The connection may be made using UniversalSerial Bus (USB), Wireless USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or using IEEE 802.15wireless personal area network (WPAN) for example. The configurationdevice 110 may be an on-board computer accessible from a user interface,a PDA, a cell phone, or a diagnostic tool.

In another embodiment, the vehicle monitoring system 400 determines ifthe vehicle 10 has been stolen or is being operated by an unauthorizedoperator. For example, sensor 100 may provide sensor input indicatingthat a car alarm has been activated, or that an engine ignition of thevehicle 10 occurred without an automotive key being present in theignition switch. If the vehicle 10 is being operated by an unauthorizedoperator, the vehicle monitoring system 400 may transmit an alertmessage to the police or shut down a vehicle operation, such as theengine.

In yet another embodiment, data that is transmitted from the vehicle 10to the access point 30 is encrypted. Encrypting the data preventsunauthorized interception of personal information that may be providedin the data. For example, the data may include an identification of thevehicle owner, a condition of the vehicle 10 (e.g. the vehicle 10 isstolen or not operational), login, password, or account information.Certain of the access points 30 may be able to decrypt the data orinstead pass on the encrypted data to the data network 20 for eventualdecryption at the endpoint 22.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a method for monitoring a vehiclestatus. In one embodiment, the vehicle monitoring system 400 of FIG. 4may be used to perform the methods. In another embodiment, the wirelesstracking device 200 of FIG. 2 may be used to perform the methods.

At operation 510 a status of the vehicle is determined. The vehiclestatus may include fuel level, engine temperature, warning lights, tirepressure, air bag deployment, passenger data, vehicle location, vehiclespeed, vehicle direction, or other vehicle status. One or more sensors,such as sensor 100 of FIG. 4, may be provided to provide a sensor inputassociated with the vehicle status. A positioning system, such aspositioning system 60 of FIG. 3 may also be provided to provide avehicle status.

At operation 520 an available wireless data network access point islocated. The wireless data network access point, such as access point 30of FIG. 3, may include a public access point, a pay-per-use accesspoint, a subscription access point or a residential or business wirelesshub. The wireless data network access point may be located using passivescanning, for example where no RF signals are transmitted. In oneembodiment, the wireless data network access point is located usingactive scanning. Active scanning may include a transmission of RFsignals.

At operation 530 the status of the vehicle is transmitted though thewireless data network access point, such as access point 30 of FIG. 3.In one embodiment an access code or login is provided to the accesspoint 30. The status of the vehicle may be transmitted over a datanetwork, such as the Internet, to a destination or endpoint 22 such as acomputer, a personal digital assistance, a cell phone, an email address,a website, the police, or any other destination in communication withthe data network.

By taking advantage of the public access points, monitoring a vehiclestatus or a device location does not require a special monthlysubscription or reliance on a third party monitoring service. Thisreduces the total cost of ownership of a tracking system or vehiclemonitoring system, and allows a larger segment of the population toparticipate in order to reduce the time required to recover stolenproperty, for example. Pay-per-use or subscription based network accesspoints do have an associated cost, however this network access cost issignificantly less expensive than the subscription prices for trackingsystems employing conventional cellular-based communication systems andthird party monitoring services.

Embodiments of the present invention are well suited to performingvarious other steps or variations of the steps recited herein, and in asequence other than that depicted and/or described herein. In oneembodiment, such a process is carried out by processors and otherelectrical and electronic components, e.g., executing computer readableand computer executable instructions comprising code contained in acomputer usable medium.

For purposes of clarity, many of the details of the improved solutionand the methods of designing and manufacturing the same that are widelyknown and are not relevant to the present invention have been omittedfrom the following description.

It should be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to“one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention.Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or morereferences to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternativeembodiment” in various portions of this specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the invention.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofexemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of theinvention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure,or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosureaiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventiveaspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than allfeatures of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claimsfollowing the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporatedinto this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment of this invention.

The system described above can use dedicated processor systems, microcontrollers, programmable logic devices, or microprocessors that performsome or all of the operations. Some of the operations described abovemay be implemented in software and other operations may be implementedin hardware.

For the sake of convenience, the operations are described as variousinterconnected functional blocks or distinct software modules. This isnot necessary, however, and there may be cases where these functionalblocks or modules are equivalently aggregated into a single logicdevice, program or operation with unclear boundaries. In any event, thefunctional blocks and software modules or features of the flexibleinterface can be implemented by themselves, or in combination with otheroperations in either hardware or software.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in apreferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the inventionmay be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from suchprinciples. I claim all modifications and variation coming within thespirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A method of monitoring a vehicle comprising: from the vehicle,periodically determining a current status of the vehicle, the currentstatus including current vehicle location; scanning to locate anavailable wireless data network access point; and periodicallytransmitting the current status of the vehicle the located access pointto an endpoint receiver.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein thecurrent vehicle location is determined according to a global positioningsystem signal.
 3. The method according to claim 1 where the currentstatus includes at least one of a time of day, a vehicle speed or avehicle direction.
 4. The method according to claim 1 furthercomprising: determining that the vehicle is being used by anunauthorized operator; and transmitting an alert message.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4 including shutting down operation of the vehicle inresponse to determining that the vehicle is being used by anunauthorized operator.
 6. The method according to claim 1 includingproviding an access code or login to the wireless data network accesspoint to enable access to the wireless data network.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1 where the wireless data network access point islocated using passive scanning.
 8. The method according to claim 7 whereno radio frequency signals are transmitted from the vehicle during thepassive scanning.
 9. The method according to claim 1 where the wirelessdata network access point is located using active scanning.
 10. Awireless tracking device, comprising: a positioning system configured toperiodically determine a current location of the device; a processorconnected to the positioning system and configured to receive a vehiclesensor input indicating current vehicle status; a scanner configured toscan for an available wireless area network access point; and a wirelessradio connected to the processor and configured to periodically transmitthe current location of the device and the current vehicle status to theavailable wireless area network access point and configured to transmitan alert message in response to a vehicle sensor input that the vehicleis being operated by an unauthorized operator.
 11. The wireless trackingdevice according to claim 10 where the processor is configured toreceive the vehicle sensor input and request the wireless radio totransmit the current vehicle status across the wireless area network.12. The wireless tracking device according to claim 11 where the vehiclesensor input includes a vehicle speed or a vehicle direction.
 13. Thewireless tracking device according to claim 11 where the vehicle sensorinput includes a car alarm signal or a key ignition detection signal.14. The wireless tracking device according to claim 10 where thewireless radio scans for the available wireless area network accesspoint without transmitting radio frequency signals.
 15. A vehiclemonitoring system comprising: a positioning system configured toperiodically determine a current location of the vehicle; a sensorconfigured to receive vehicle condition input; a microcontrollerconfigured to receive a sensor input from the sensor and determinevehicle condition and to receive current vehicle location data from thepositioning system, and to shut down vehicle operation in response tosensor indication that the vehicle is being operated by an unauthorizedoperator; and a wireless transmitter in communication with themicrocontroller and configured to periodically scan to locate anavailable wireless data network remote access point and to transmit thevehicle condition data and the current vehicle location dataperiodically to the remote data network access point, the wirelesstransmitter also configured to transmit an alert message in response tothe sensor indication that the vehicle is being operated by theunauthorized operator.
 16. The vehicle monitoring system according toclaim 15 including a configuration device that provides an operatorselectable mode of wireless transmission.
 17. The vehicle monitoringsystem according to claim 16 where the mode of wireless transmissionincludes passive scanning, active scanning or account management of theremote data network access point.
 18. The vehicle monitoring systemaccording to claim 16 where the mode of wireless transmission includesselection of a data transmission protocol.
 19. The vehicle monitoringsystem according to claim 16 where the mode of wireless transmissionincludes selection of a destination to transmit the vehicle conditiondata.
 20. The vehicle monitoring system according to claim 19 where thedestination includes a computer, a website or an e-mail account.